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When you grow up in the Valley, your experience of it is greatly dictated by which part you’re from. Phoenix and its sundry suburbs and surrounding cities are so spread out that if you grew up in Mesa, say, you’d have absolutely no reason to go to Avondale – at least not in the course of your daily life. We largely live in our own little community bubbles and only venture out to go to an event (pre-COVID) or try a new restaurant (and even then, it’s only people...

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Trying new restaurants is a big part of my life – for work and for personal pleasure. This year, though, I’ve made an effort to patronize (via takeout; I’m still quarantining) restaurants that are older, but new to me. I’ve especially made a point to try beloved Valley institutions I’d somehow missed in my dining adventures. Now I know that I, too, love Los Sombreros and Rusconi’s American Kitchen!   This time I thought I’d finally try Roaring Fork and its wood-fired Southwestern cuisine, made famous by former chef/owner Robert McGrath. When I was 12, I started religiously reading The Arizona Republic’s...

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I haven’t sat down in a restaurant or bar since my birthday dinner at Angry Crab Shack on March 10. Who knew my seafood boil and hurricanes would be my last tastes of restaurant life for five months and counting? To me, it still doesn’t feel safe – for me or the employees of restaurants – and I’m listening to my intuition and not feeling bad about that. I’ve still been spending a ton on takeout to support local throughout this mess, but we all know it’s...

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As much as I’d love to support local restaurants by ordering a massive takeout happy hour spread and gallons of to-go cocktails every week, I have to remember that we’re on a budget – me and the magazine. I know we’re not the only ones watching our spending right now, what with the global pandemic and economic depression and all. But you didn’t click on this to be reminded of all that sadness, you clicked on it for a boozy escape!   I began the quarantine with a...

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As the pandemic plods along and I continue to largely self-quarantine at home with my partner, our dogs and my mother, I have been coming up with imaginative and increasingly desperate ways to pretend like I’m somewhere else.   I know I’m not the only one. I’ve read articles about parents setting up in-home “pub crawls” for their newly 21-year-olds, Zoom dance parties for milestone birthdays and virtual tours of tropical isles. I read a great essay by a kindred spirit who opened a “pretend restaurant” for...

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Here is a trio of regular virtual happy hours that offer camaraderie, entertainment and an alcoholic education by some of the best bartenders in town – and you don’t even have to get up. Marshall Shore’s History Happy Hours “Arizona’s Hip Historian,” Marshall Shore, hosts this weekly happy hour filled with fun Arizona history trivia, tidbits from the state’s past, a view from the “Hist-O-Cam,” lively conversations with guests such as Valley drag performance legend...

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A few months ago, I asked my colleagues which local restaurants they’d always wanted to try but never got around to visiting. Our answers were varied, interesting and at times a little embarrassing (I don’t want to “out” anyone, but some were jaw-droppers).    One of many on my long list was Los Sombreros, which I’d read about years ago as a budding foodie hanging on every word Howard Seftel wrote in The Arizona Republic. That was back when Jeff Smedstad (pre-Elote Café...

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I don’t normally drink during the day. Certainly not on weekdays, at least. But after a particularly long and stressful “ship week,” the time each month that we proof and edit every page of the magazine multiple times before shipping it to the printer, I couldn’t find it within myself to decline the offer of a media Mid-Day Happy Hour from Daily Dose Kitchen & Bar, which has locations in Old Town Scottsdale, Midtown Phoenix and Tempe. “Hopefully day drinking is a part of your quarantine lifestyle,” Daily...

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If you’ve ever cohabitated with another human, you know how difficult it is to decide on dinner. You feel like sushi, your beloved feels like Chinese. You feel like fried chicken, your roommate feels like gyros. In my house, my fella and I agree on some cuisines – Thai and Vietnamese are weekly takeout treats for us, even before the pandemic – but he never feels like Indian, and I rarely feel like pizza. Our particular dinner dilemma is complicated by the fact that I will drive anywhere for good...

Ladera Taverna y Cocina may be temporarily closed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a tipple or two from its award-winning mixologist, Colton Brock. He won Arizona Cocktail Weekend’s Last Slinger Standing competition in February, but lately he’s been slinging simple mezcal drinks at home. We caught up with Brock and asked him to share a couple of recipes for us to try.   What have you been mixing up at home? I predominantly drink mezcal and other agave spirits,...

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The first time I heard someone talk about tiki drinks in a positive light was at a “lunch and learn” with famed mixologist Jason Asher at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa six or seven years ago. I was new to professional journalism and new to drinking – green in every sense of the word. Instead of partying, I’d spent my high school and college years studying, working and being a designated driver for my “wild” friends (in retrospect: not wild at all). At 25 or so, I was playing major catch-up, trying to educate myself...

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It’s that time of week again. Time to plan your weekend and the beers you’re going to enjoy at home while social distancing. Here are the new releases from breweries across Arizona for the week of April 23rd. FATE BREWING ALL TOGETHER IPA. 6.5% ABV. $16 for a 4-pack. GOLDWATER BREWING MOON ROCKS triple hazy IPA. 9.5% ABV. $24 for a 4-pack. DYNAMITE IPA. 6.4% ABV. $16 for a 4-pack. SIMPLE MACHINE BREWING CAMPER RED American...

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While the COVID-19 pandemic in many ways has us feeling like we’re living in the Middle Ages (Black Death vibes abound), there are bits of happiness and hope to be found. For drinkers, there are many. We’re learning how to make our own drinks! We can order cocktails to go! We don’t have to worry about getting home safely because we’re already home!   For appreciators of agave spirits and “support local” devotees such as moi, there’s a huge burst of happiness: We are at the beginning of a Golden Age for locally...

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Arizona breweries are busy cranking out new brews all the time. Here’s what’s new this week and releasing this weekend. GOLDWATER BREWING  CRIMSON CLOUDS NO. 4 southwest hazy IPA. Pre-orders open Friday, April 17. $22 per four-pack. HAZY GATES lite hazy IPA back in stock. $16 per four-pack. SIX FOOT CHEERS saison. $16 per four-pack. WREN HOUSE BREWING LAS FRESCAS MANDERINI fruited sour.  $20 four a four-pack. TOGETHER pale ale.  Limited amount available in crowlers....

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“I have respect for beer!” Russell Crowe shouts, thrusting his arms skyward, in his portrayal of mathematician John Nash in 2001’s A Beautiful Mind.   I can relate. While beer has never been my thing, I have interviewed many talented, thoughtful brewers and written quite a bit about local breweries. Beermaking is a beautiful mix of art and science that never ceases to amaze me. The craft beer community has my utmost respect, especially in how it has pivoted during the pandemic to reach customers in new and innovative ways.   Not...